Abstract
Oil palm is the most productive vegetable oil crop per unit area and is crucial to the economy of developing countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia. However, it is also highly controversial due to the impact it has on biodiversity. Inputs of herbicides to control understory vegetation in plantations are high, which is likely to harm native biodiversity, but may be unnecessary in protecting oil palm yield. In this study we investigate the effects of understory manipulation using herbicides on soil fauna, litter decomposition rates, and soil abiotic variables: pH, soil organic carbon, soil water content, nitrogen, carbon/nitrogen ratio, potassium, and phosphorous. Understory vegetation was manipulated in three treatments: enhanced understory complexity (no herbicides, developed understory), normal understory complexity (intermediate herbicide use with some manual removal) and reduced understory complexity (heavy herbicide use, no understory vegetation). Two years after treatment, soil macrofauna diversity was higher in the enhanced than the normal, and reduced understory treatment. Furthermore, both macrofauna abundance and litter decomposition was higher in the enhanced than the reduced understory treatment. By contrast, soil fertility did not change between treatments, perhaps indicating there is little competition between oil palms, and understory vegetation. The reduction of herbicide use should be encouraged in oil palm plantations, this will not only reduce plantation costs, but improve soil biodiversity, and ecosystem functioning.
Highlights
Oil palm is the most productive vegetable oil crop per unit area (Zimmer, 2010) and is a crucial part of the economy in developing countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia (Koh and Wilcove, 2007)
Our findings show that diversity and abundance of soil macrofauna along with belowground ecosystem functioning can be improved in oil palm plantations by reducing herbicide applications and enhancing understory vegetation
This study shows that a reduction in herbicide usage and the resulting improvement in understory vegetation diversity and coverage can be a key tool in improving withinplantation belowground biodiversity and ecosystem functioning
Summary
Oil palm is the most productive vegetable oil crop per unit area (Zimmer, 2010) and is a crucial part of the economy in developing countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia (Koh and Wilcove, 2007). With over 21 million ha of plantations covering the tropics (FAOSTAT, 2016) oil palm cultivation is one of the most controversial land uses. Improving the management of oil palm plantations to protect existing biodiversity and ecosystem functions is vital for agricultural sustainability and biodiversity conservation (Foster et al, 2011). It is in the interest of plantation managers to develop and apply sustainable practices, as this can lead to economic gain (Woittiez et al, 2017) and there is considerable market demand for palm oil to be certified as sustainable by the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) (Tayleur et al, 2018). One of the core management criteria for plantations to be certified as sustainable by the RSPO is to improve soil sustainability (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil., 2013)
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